What I Go To School For (Junior Year)
by Miley Owns My Gypsy Heart
Summary: His voice is echoed in my mind; I count the days till he is mine. Can't tell my friends cause they will laugh, I love a member of the staff...
1. Prologue

_**PROLOGUE**_

_The Boy stared at the house he was parked outside. He wasn't a boy anymore, he'd insist to his mother every time he called and she'd call him her Baby Boy. He was a man. A man who was sitting in his car outside of a house three months after he'd made a promise to a 9-year-old girl. The girl was 10 now, which was why he was here, because he promised he'd be here for her 10th birthday... He hadn't even come for Frankie's 8th or Nick's 13th birthdays and they were his brothers. His blood. He could try and justify it by saying he was here for Thanksgiving and he just came early on what happened to be the girls birthday, but his Mom would see right through him._

_Joe Lucas let out a confused sigh, grabbed the guitar and CD from the passenger seat before getting out of his car. He was here for Thanksgiving, he told himself; maybe if he told himself that enough times he'd believe it so he wouldn't feel like such a pussy for complying to a ten-year-olds whim._

_Even before he knocked on the door of the Stewarts' house he could hear the squeals and laughter of little girls having a party. There was a half a second between the knocking and the answering of the door when Joe could still keep his dignity and turn around; but then the door opened and the smiling face of a little girl was staring up at him. Miley squealed and threw her arms around the older boy happily. Joe wasn't stupid, he knew Miley had a crush on him - he could practically see the hearts shining in her eyes every time she looked at him - and he actually thought it was kind of endearing. Maybe that's why he couldn't say no to her._

"_What's up, Princess?" Joe cleared his throat awkwardly when a full minute later she was still hugging him._

"_You really came." Miley stepped back, beaming up at him even though her cheeks were flushed red._

"_I promised I would." Joe shrugged, trying to pretend that he hadn't been agonizing over when would be the right time to leave school to get here. "Happy birthday, Princess... Ten, right?"_

"_Yeah." Miley confirmed, her small hand clinging onto his and dragging him into the house._

"_Joe!" Robby Stewart looked surprised to see him. "What brings you here?"_

"_Heard you make good cake." The boy muttered, feeling uncomfortable with not only the father of the little girl still attached to his hand staring at him, but also a dozen other 10-year-olds._

"_I didn't blow out my candles yet, Joe, I was gonna wish that you'd come back." Miley revealed, her big blue eyes blinking earnestly. Once again Joe could just about see actual hearts floating in her eyes when she looked at him._

"_Well, I'm here now, so don't waste a wish; wish for something really cool... Like a motorbike or something." He suggested, making Miley giggle._

"_I'm not big enough for a motorbike yet, Silly." The little girl explained as if it were obvious._

"_Of course." Joe rolled his eyes in agreement. "You still have to wish for something cool, though."_

"_I will." Miley assured._

"_Sorry for crashing the party, Mister S." Joe turned to the older man, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, after Miley had been beckoned back to her friends. "I promised her I'd come for her birthday, but I shoulda called first or something."_

"_It's no problem, Joe." Robby shook his head with a smile. "With the way Miley's been talkin' it would've been a bigger problem if you hadn't come than an extra piece of cake."_

"_Sorry." The boy mumbled, earning a pair of raised eyebrows._

"_What for? It's better than seeing my little girl moping."_

"_I don't know; I just feel like I should always apologize when I'm near a girls father." Joe explained with a shrug._

"_Joe! Come on, I get to cut the cake now!" Miley yelled an hour later, despite the fact that she was standing right next to him._

"_I'm coming, Princess." Joe laughed as everyone started singing Happy Birthday when Robby lit the ten candles sitting proudly on the cake his Mom made._

"_No, Dad, I want Joe here." Miley frowned when her father stood next to her after presenting the cake on a table. Robby rolled his eyes, but moved as Joe just shrugged sheepishly, not knowing what else to do._

"_Make a wish, Cutie." Joe reminded when she took a deep breath to blow out her candles. When the candles were blown out and Miley was beaming happily Joe helped her with the knife since she'd banished her father from being next to her; carefully and slowly guiding it through the cake until it touched the bottom, earning giggles from most of the girls present._

"_It touched the bottom so gotta kiss the person closest." One of the girls announced in a matter-of-fact tone. Miley blushed and suddenly Joe knew why she wanted him next to her so badly when she kissed his cheek and then squealed._

"_Ten years old." Joe heard Robby Ray say, shaking his head, looking half sad, half amused. "Ten years old and she's already conspiring to kiss boys."_

* * *

**Okay, so here is the prologue for the second instalment in the What I Go To School For series; this will be part 2. Part 1 is What I Go To School For (Sophomore) which is the 10th grade. This will be 11th grade or Junior year depending on where you're from.**

**I just like to start each instalment of this series off with a little prologue of when Miley was little and Joe was... well, not little, but younger, showing how even years before even though it wasn't sexual or romantic they still had a bond or connection.**

**The next chapter will be the first chapter and will start on the first day of school, showcasing the aftermath of the Summer and everything that happened in the last instalment.**

**Also; how would any of you feel about a story involving magic that I've been in the process of writing and developing over the last several years?  
-coincidingly; how many cross-over is too many for one story?  
So far possible show/movie/book inclusions are: Charmed, Hannah Montana, JONAS, Wizards Of Waverly Place, with a possible sequel including Harry Potter.**

**Or, I also just came up with the idea of (and am in the process of developing) a story involving Hannah Montana, Smallville, Arrow (maybe) and the original concept for the J. O. N. A. S show that was about spies.**

**Or there's a third that I've had for years again about the show Parallax (google it) in which Miley hops from world to world trying to find her parnets who are Guardians and Joe is a half-Guardian son of a Guardian who is suspect of Miley...**

**Let me know what you guys think of these ideas, or if you have any of your own you'd like me to try and write.**

**Smiler For Joe!**


	2. Chapter 1

_**CHAPTER ONE**_

_September 8th_

I held my breath and stared at the building in front of me. Another year, not even that, only nine months. Another nine months in that building... Give or take some of my sentence for promotion and Hannah stuff. As of 8:00 last night Hannah was locked away again; back in a bright pink sparkly box in my closet, nothing more than a wig. But, I still didn't feel right, I still felt way too suffocated by Hannah.

"Loser." Jackson scoffed at me from the drivers seat of his car; he was officially a high school graduate, and today was my first day of my Junior year. I downloaded my schedule for the semester last night, I don't know how or why, but I have Math first on Monday again. Absolutely nothing else on my schedule is the same as last year - not even my other Math classes - it's just first thing on Monday.

"At least I get higher than a C in every class." I muttered back to Jackson who had graduated with a C average in June. Maybe I should stop getting good grades; the deal with Dad is that I can be Hannah as long as I get at least a B in ever class. Maybe if I stop he'll make Hannah go away for a while?

"At least I'm not stuck in school for another two years." Jackson shot back, sticking his tongue out at me. How did he get to be the older sibling? He's immature, he can't seem to figure out basic hygiene, and he's not in love with his teacher. If I was his age already then I might not feel numb inside right now.

"Later loser." I grabbed my bag and got out of the car, facing the school building ten minutes before the bell would ring. I heard a squeal and froze, thinking someone had recognised me as Hannah, then I felt someone tumble into me and a mess of blonde hair. Lilly. I hugged her back tightly, I hadn't seen her all Summer, so I was once again faced with the overly cliché situation of reuniting with my best friends on the first day of school. Last year I was getting back from tour, this year I'm getting back from shooting a movie, what would it be next year?

"Hi, Lil." I laughed, squeezing her one last time before we separated. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Miles." Lilly grinned, linking her arm with mine and leading me down the hall to find my new locker. Why did we even have to change lockers every semester? Why couldn't we keep the same locker for all four years of high school. "How was your Summer? What was the movie like? What about-"

"Lil." I laughed, finding the right locker. "Calm down, Lilly, we can catch up after school, we've got to get to class."

"Ugh, why couldn't you get back a week ago?" Lilly scrunched up her nose in distaste. "Fine, whatever, I have Biology first."

"See you, Lils." I waved as we went our separate ways; her to Biology with Miss Kunkle, and me to Math... Where one Joseph Lucas would be.

The first thing I saw when I stepped into the Math classroom was Mr. Lucas' name in his scratchy writing on the whiteboard, then the number in the top left of the blackboard (633) then I noticed that the man in question was nowhere in sight. Most of the class was already there - and the front two rows were filled with girls - but Mr. Lucas wasn't. He was still a teacher here as of yesterday when I downloaded my schedule and his name was written in every Math square. And he'd only been late to class once, last year on the first day of school when he'd been late because of his workout. The next day I saw him naked for the first time...

I looked around the room, almost everyone had chosen a seat, even though Mr. Lucas would probably make us change seats, so there were only a few left to choose from. the bell rang loudly and the rest of the class filed in; for a minute the hum of talking had quieted as we waited for Joe to show up, then it slowly started to increase again as the minutes ticked by. I just stared straight ahead, I wasn't sure if it would be a good thing or not for him to be over ten minutes late - which is when everyone would take that as an absent teacher and skip class. I hadn't had any contact with him since he called me drunk and crying two weeks ago. I'd tried calling him the next morning, but he'd gone back to ignoring me. And I'd ended up crying over him again. He was the one who was so insistent that we shouldn't have anything to do with each other, that I should get over him and stop loving him, so why did he have to make it so hard? Didn't he know that every time he did something like send me a text with a virtual kiss and then went out of his way to ignore me for a month that it just made it hurt more?

On the other hand I wanted to see him so bad. Because I'm the idiot who loves her teacher, because I'm the idiot who can't get over the guy who dumped her way back at the beginning of March. I must be a glutton for punishment because every time he hurts me, every time he breaks my heart I still go back to him, I still let him do it again and again. Until one day there might not be anything left of me to break...

"Score!" Someone yelled, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked around, everyone was cheering and happy, grabbing their books and bags... It had been ten minutes. We didn't have a teacher so everyone was taking that to mean that Math class was out for today.

"Don't get too happy, Mister Kent." The whole room went silent and I froze at the sound of his voice.

"What? But-but-" The boy spluttered as everyone groaned and sat back in their chairs.

"Your butt better in your chair, Danny." Mr. Lucas said, I just stared at him. He had dark shadows under his eyes, he looked like he hadn't showered in at least a week, or been outside in a month he was so pale, there was a bandage around his right hand, a bruise on his cheek and his bottom lip was cut so badly that I could see at least two stitches on it. Who was this man? What happen to Joe Lucas? The beautiful man with the perfect tan, the sweet smile, the bright brown eyes... This Mr. Lucas looked like a shadow of the man I fell in love with.

The whole class was quiet as Mr. Lucas dropped his bag by his desk and looked down at the roster on it. I saw his eyes scan the clipboard before they widened and he looked up, darting around before they landed on me in the corner of the back row. Joe stared at me with those dull hazel-brown eyes and I stared back at him until he looked away when someone spoke.

"What happened to you?" It was one of the girls in the front row, sounding concerned and like he was an injured puppy.

"Fight." Mr. Lucas muttered shortly, my eyes widened and the class tittered. "You should see the other guy." He shrugged, I guess two weeks ago wasn't the only time he'd been drinking this Summer because those were fresh wounds. And a fight didn't explain the shadows under his eyes, those were from not sleeping. I knew because I used make up to cover my shadows. "Now for the seating." I gulped, he wouldn't make me sit front and centre again would he? He wouldn't torture me like that for a whole semester would he? "Centre left move to outside right, centre right to outside left, outside left to inside left and outside right to inside right." He instructed, making the room erupt into a flurry of activity as everyone obeyed. "Now front row switch with back, second row stay where you are and third switches with fourth." I'd started off in the right corner of the back row... With Mr. Lucas' new changes I was sitting in the front row second from the window on the right.

"Sweet niblets." I muttered, dropping into the desk. I guess he was going to torture me like that...

"Now can we get the first class over with before my painkillers start to wear off?" He ran his hand through his hair tiredly before wincing when he realised it was his right hand.

"How long ago did it happen?" Amy Taylor asked from behind me, Mr. Lucas' eyes went to her for a second before sliding down to me where we locked eyes again for barely a second before I looked away. He had to know it would hurt to make me sit here.

"Well, let's see." Joe let out a sad sigh. "About four hours ago." He said after checking his watch and I gasped along with everyone else. "So unless you wanna make my hangover worse, shut up."

"Drinking on a school night." One of the guys taunted mockingly.

"Got through a whole bottle of scotch before the asshole downstairs decided he was too good for the music I was playing." Joe rolled his eyes, I let out a breath, at least he wasn't out at a bar drinking when he has Matthew. Not that drinking when there's a baby in his apartment is any better, or getting in a fight, or driving the baby anywhere when he's hung over. Why was he even drinking in the first place? And doesn't Mrs. Gunderson live downstairs from Joe?

Poor Mrs. Gunderson!

_**WHAT I GO TO SCHOOL FOR**_

"Mister Lucas?" I asked hesitantly, hoping I wouldn't end up regretting this like I did every other conversation. I was at the doorway to the Math classroom during lunch. "Joe?" I stirred again when he didn't respond, sitting at his desk with his head in his hands.

"What? Miley?" Joe muttered, not even looking up to acknowledge me. I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me. "Now isn't really a good time, Miley, so why don't I just tell how this is gonna go?" He suggested, finally looking up. "You're going to try and convince me you want to be with me, that you won't regret it or hate me, I'm going to keep saying no because I want you to actually have a life, you're going to get upset, I'm going to feel even more horrible than I already do, and then you're going to leave and we'll do this again eventually when you decide you should keep fighting a losing battle." Joe explained dully, and he was right, I could already feel the ache starting to grow.

"Fine." I mumbled, looking down, but I didn't leave.

"Just do us both a favour, Miley, and learn to hate me." He told me, as if it was that easy.

"How is the baby?" I asked instead of responding to that. I really should hate him, but my heart didn't seem to get the message.

"He's nine months old, not a whole lot going on." Mr. Lucas shrugged.

"Where was he when you decided to get drunk four hours before you had school?" I sat in the desk he'd made me move to this morning.

"In his crib. I walked him to the nursery this morning, that's why I was late." He assured, at least he did something responsible. "And it wasn't really a decision to get drunk; just an added bonus of drinking copious amounts of alcohol."

"And why did you feel the need to drink copious amounts of alcohol?" I pressed, Joe blinked at me for a minute.

"Because I'm the only Math teacher in this stupid school." He rolled his bloodshot brown eyes.

"So, you were drinking because of me?" I surmised, he might as well have just admitted it.

"Mom already yelled at me for drinking enough this Summer, Miley." Joe sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "I don't need another lecture to know I'm a screw up."

"Then maybe you should take the hint and stop drinking." I suggested like it was obvious. "The lectures might stop if the drinking stops."

"What if I don't want the drinking to stop?" Joe snapped back. "I wouldn't ever hurt Matty, or put him in danger, so what's the harm in numbing the pain a little?"

"Do you remember two weeks ago?" I didn't even know if he remembered calling me in August.

"I'm sorry for that." So he did remember? Or at least he knew he called me, maybe from his call history.

"Maybe that's why you should stop drinking?" I got up, looking down for a second before moving my eyes back to him. "You may not be affecting Matthew, and it may numb your pain, but you keep saying you don't want to hurt me, but calling me drunk and crying hurts _me_."

"Okay." Joe looked down and then peaked up to me through his lashes. "I'm done." He confirmed, "I'd never put Matty in danger, but if it hurts you I'll stop."

"How much did you drink this Summer?" I couldn't stop myself from asking when I reached the door.

"Once or twice a week; nothing serious." He shrugged casually. "Just when Mom or someone wanted the baby and it started to hurt too much. Last night was the first time I ever drank with Matty around."

"And the last. Right."

"Right." Joe nodded, actually looking guilty. "For what it's worth, though, Matty was teething all Summer so between that and missing you I was pretty much in Hell and the alcohol didn't work."

"I can't feel like this for another two years, Joe." I looked down as I left, closing the door behind me before he could say anything.

* * *

**1) I've decided I'm going to update this once a week (at least, most likely more dependant on how much I write versus how much you guys review) without fail. So, even if I take a few days you guys can be sure you'll get a new chapter at least every 7 days.  
2) I went to see Cyndi Lauper in concert tonight!  
3) Aside from the nudity and the attempt at making out with a sledge hammer I really like Miley's latest single Wrecking Ball, it's a definite improvement over We Can't Stop.  
4) If you could meet anyone in the Universe living or dead, who would it be and why? (Just curious.)**

**Special thanks go to;  
Guest 1, Guest 2, Lauren, Guest 3, Guest 4, Guest 5, CyrusObsessed, DisneyFanFics25, Simar and Guest 6... For taking the time and effort to review the prologue.**


	3. Chapter 2

_**CHAPTER TWO**_

_September 9th_

I stood in the hallway staring at the flyers on the notice board. Since it was the start of the year all the clubs and groups were putting flyers and sign up sheets for new members. Cheerleading, sports teams, chess club, but the one I was fixated on was the flyer for the band. It was the same one as last year that Joe and I designed, except with new dates for auditions. And right next to it was another flyer that after only a couple of hours only had one tab left; a babysitter for Mr. Lucas. I eyed the last tab that had his familiar cell phone number printed on it, there were nine other tabs already missing, what if he chose one of them? What if one of them was prettier? What if he fell in love with her?

I tore the last tab away before I could change my mind. Besides, babysitting Matthew would let me feed my gluttony for punishment by getting to see Joe more. Not that Joe would ever choose me, the second he heard my voice he'd probably hang up on me.

"Hey, Miley." I looked away from the notice board to see Gabe Lamati; a year ago I would have been a blushing idiot around Gabe because half of the female population at school had a crush on him, including me, but a lot had changed since last year.

"Hi, Gabe." The blonde boy reached forward and wrote his name out in even, printed letters on the swim team try outs page. There was a reason we called him Hottie Lamati with the swimmers body.

"You gonna try out for swim team this year?" Gabe asked after an awkward, silent moment in which I studied his name; it was different from how Joe would write, when Joe writes in cursive it's easy and fluid, but when he prints it looks like barely legible chicken scratch. Dang flabit, I have to stop comparing everything to Joe Lucas!

"No, just seeing what's new." I shook my head in response to Gabe. "But, I might come watch some of your competitions."

"That'd be really awesome." Gabe smiled before walking away. I watched after him for a moment trying to figure out if Gabe was actually trying to hit on me or it was my imagination.

"Hi." It wasn't long until someone joined me at the notice board again, though he was standing a few feet behind me.

"Hi." I stared ahead, trying not to let his voice affect me.

"Thinking of signing up for anything?" He asked casually.

"Maybe." I shrugged, he wanted to know if I was going to audition for the band. I told him last year I would, that I wouldn't give up on us. It had been half a year, I don't think there was an us to give up on anymore.

"You probably shouldn't." Mr. Lucas said from behind me.

"Probably?" I felt my hopes get up despite myself.

"Just like I _probably_ shouldn't feel a certain way." It was the way he said it that hurt; we both knew that he definitely shouldn't feel any way about me, so he was telling me that definitely shouldn't audition for his band thing. The bell rang for the end of the lunch period.

"In that case, I _probably_ won't audition." I assured, finally letting myself look at him before I walked away; he was staring after me with his sad puppy dog eyes before someone walked between us and I looked away and he disappeared.

_**WHAT I GO TO SCHOOL FOR**_

_September 12th_

I stared at my phone with the familiar number typed in, contemplating weather or not I should actually call it. I stared at it for a full minute, I'd had the small tab from the flyer since Tuesday and now it was Friday, Joe hadn't said more than three words directly to me since I walked away from him in the hallway. My finger hovered over the call button for a full minute before I chickened out and clicked back to my home screen; not for long though because the little device in my hand started buzzing and blaring an all too familiar ringtone.

"Hello?" I tried to keep my voice steady when I answered after at least thirty seconds.

"Hi." He spoke on the other end followed by a drawn out silence. "Um... How are you?"

"Joe." I whispered, looking down and earning a sad sigh.

"Sorry." He sounded like he meant it too. "So, uh... I saw you looking at the babysitting flyer the other day..." Joe started slowly after another moment of silence. "I already tried three other girls this week, but Matthew just screams at them... Maybe you could come over?" This was the very reason I almost called two minutes ago; to offer to babysit, but I'd chickened out.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I bit my bottom lip.

"No." Joe let out a breath slowly. "But, will you come anyway?" He pleaded and in my mind I could practically see him pouting.

"When?" Because we both knew I couldn't say no to him.

"Whenever." He sounded relieved, I bit my lip again. "See you soon?"

"Yeah." I agreed followed by another one of those long silences that had plagued us recently. "Bye."

"Bye." Joe hung up the other line, I rolled over on my bed and got up. I ran to my closet, I couldn't turn up at Joe's place looking like I did at school... Even though I shouldn't want to look pretty for him, especially when I was supposed to be going for Baby Matthew.

A quick outfit change, reapplication of my makeup and telling Dad where I was going I was out the door and in my car. I sat in my car for another ten minutes before I started it; what the Hell am I doing? I'm supposed to be trying to get over him, not catering to his every whim... But, it's for Matthew, Matthew didn't break my heart. What did Joe even need a babysitter for anyway? But, all my internal arguing didn't stop me from eventually starting my car and driving to Joe's apartment building

"Oh, Hello, Miley." I looked up in surprise when I got into the elevator.

"Hi, Mrs. Gunderson." I forced myself to smile at the elderly woman who lived underneath Joe.

"It's been a while since I've seen you around here." Mrs. Gunderson commented as we started to go up.

"Uh yeah, I guess so." I looked down, feeling awkward.

"Joe hasn't been the same since you stopped coming around." Mrs. Gunderson said, I hadn't been the same either. "He got into a fight with my grandson earlier in the week, the poor boy is just so out of it lately."

"I'm sorry." I winced, Joe still had bandages on his hand after a week and even though his lip no longer had the stitches it still looked really bad.

"You just make sure he's alright, especially with the baby; I don't know who was looking for a fight more out of the two." Mrs. Gunderson shook her head despondently.

"Is your grandson okay?" I felt compelled to ask, I knew Joe could be strong.

"Gavin is just fine, thank-you." The elevator stopped on Mrs. Gunderson's floor and she gave me one last smile as she got out. "I hope to see you around more, Miley." The doors closed and I was left in the elevator alone for the short trip up to Joe's floor. Once again I found myself having an inner conflict as I stood outside his door; I shouldn't be here, he'd broken me enough times that I should just learn to stay away. With that thought I raised my hand and knocked, because I'm a glutton for punishment.

"Hi." The door opened not even a second after I touched it, had he been waiting by the door for me?

"Hi." We both just stood in the doorway for a long, awkward moment.

"Uh... Come in." He stepped back and ran a hand through his messy hair. "Hey, Buddy." Joe picked the baby up off a playmat near the crib. "Look who's here; don't you miss Miley?" The baby hummed and squirmed a little in Joe's arms, but otherwise he seemed content.

"He got big." I marvelled, but at the same time he was still so tiny.

"Yeah." Joe agreed, tickling his stomach and eliciting a giggle. "Look at the those teeth." Two tiny white buds on his top gums and one on the bottom. "They caused me Hell this Summer, but he's worth it."

"It's just me that's not." I blurted out before I could stop myself. Silence surround us, even Matthew was quiet.

"You're worth the world, Miley." Joe murmured, looking away. He put Matthew back on his playmat and sat on the couch, his head down.

"Except to you." The words lingered around us like a heavy fog.

"I hope one day you'll understand..." He muttered.

"Did you really want me here to babysit?" I asked, he swallowed thickly.

"I just need someone to watch him for a few hours sometimes." He shrugged, peaking up at me through his lashes. "I know it hurts Mom to be around him, but I still wanna do stuff with Frankie; he doesn't have a Dad anymore."

"You're a really good brother." I commented, sitting on the couch as well. Matthew was happily chewing on the arm of a stuffed dog toy.

"I make up for it by being a deplorable teacher, a horrible man, and the worst boyfriend ever."

"You were a great boyfriend." I contradicted, making him scoff. "It was the part where you stopped being my boyfriend that hurt."

"You know I don't want to hurt you." Joe stared at me with his sad puppy eyes.

"And you know that I don't care if your raising you're brother, or you think I'm missing out on something." I huffed indignantly. "So with what we both know we should still be together instead of you getting drunk and beating up Mrs. Gunderson's grandson."

"Except what I also know is that you're better off without me."

"Then why did you call me?" I demanded, "I'm sure you could've found someone else to babysit, but you called me. Why me if all you're going to do is push me away?" Instead of replying I let out a gasp. It felt so good, like I was finally home again; Joe was kissing me. His lips soft as ever, but hard and demanding at the same time.

My hands moved of their own mind to Joe's head, holding him desperately close as he kissed me, his tongue touching my lips for the barest of seconds before I let him into my mouth. I'd missed this so much, the feeling of love and content-ness I got every time a part of Joe touched a part of me. Joe's hands were cupping my cheeks like a delicate little flower as he kissed me hungrily, like he was dieing and I was the glass of water that would save him.

"Mmm..." He pulled away ever so slightly when we needed air and nuzzled his face into my neck as he let out a contented sound. He peppered kisses across my neck and jaw, right to the corner of my mouth at which time he pressed his forehead against mine. I kept my hands on his head, holding him to me as I opened my eyes. Joe's eyes were dark and half-lidded, making the green and gold look even more vibrant.

"Hi." I flushed and bit my lip shyly, suddenly feeling a lot better than I had since March.

"Hi." Joe hummed, leaning down to kiss me again, this time it was slow and languid, like he was taking his time. I don't know how, but I felt the couch underneath me and Joe was pressing me into it gently with his body. It felt so good. And then suddenly he was gone and that cold feeling started to creep in again. "I got you, Matthew." The baby had been making noises, I guess that took away from the coldness. I sat up as Joe sat back on the couch with baby Matthew.

"Is he okay?" I eventually found my voice.

"Yeah... Just an adorable little attention seeker." Joe said affectionately.

"He looks like you." I mused, keeping my eyes determinedly on the baby.

"Hopefully he won't be as big a screw up as me." He shrugged as Matthew settled in his arms. "I should feed him, he's been having late naps."

"Want me to hold him?" I offered, I mean, that was the alleged reason he'd called me, to look after Matthew.

"Thanks." Baby Matthew curled into my lap after Joe handed him to me. It was hard to believe he didn't like the other girls. Then again I didn't know who the other girls were, or if Joe even introduced them to Matthew. "He likes you." Matthew laid his head on my chest and blinked up at me. There was definitely no denying the resemblance between Joe and Matthew; if I didn't know any better I'd think he was Joe's baby.

"Did you really want me to babysit?" I asked as Joe got a bottle ready. He was silent for a long moment so I looked over to him.

"I don't know." He eventually muttered, bringing the warm bottle over.

"I'll do it if you want." Matthew could hold the bottle all on his own as he sat in my lap. "You know, so you can do stuff with your Mom or Frankie or your friends."

"You don't have to, I shouldn't have even called you." I looked up from the baby to see his big brother staring at me sadly. "I shouldn't have kissed you."

"Do you regret it?" I swallowed, scared of the answer. Another long silence that was so heavy I could practically feel it suffocating me.

"No." Joe admitted eventually and I let out a relieved breath. "I never regret being with you." The night I gave him my virginity flashed through my mind, I blushed. "But, that doesn't mean that I should have done it, or that I should keep doing it."

* * *

**1) So, I know some of you wanted a reunion, this isn't exactly it, but I thought it was a nice compromise.  
2) Other than the obvious Miley/Joe reunion what else would you like to see in this series... A sub-plot if you will.  
3) So, apparently Miley and Liam are officially over... It's sad, I had such high hopes for them, but I guess all the best to them both.  
4) The next update will be on or before the 24th.**

**Smiler For Joe!**


	4. Chapter 3

_**CHAPTER THREE**_

_September 12th_

"So, I guess what I want doesn't matter?" I accused, dang flabit; how many times would I be hurt by this man before my heart just got the message and stopped loving him?

"What you want is wrong." Joe snapped, making me flinch back, which startled Matthew in my lap for a second. "And I know that because I want it too and I'm so screwed up that if I want it then I know it has to be wrong."

"It doesn't feel wrong, you're not taking anything away from me, Joe." Matthew was practically asleep in my arms.

"I took your virginity."

"I gave that to you." I countered, blushing at the mere thought.

"And two days later I broke your heart, isn't that enough of a reason to stop loving me for two years?" Joe looked torn between frustrated and desperate.

"If I stop loving you, Joe, it'll be forever, not just two years." He had to know it didn't just work the way he wanted. "Which is beside the point because my feelings don't just switch off; if they did I would have done it a long time ago. Just-..." I huffed, frowned, and carefully moved Matthew into Joe's arms. "If you want me to babysit, just let me know.. If not... Let me try and stop loving you in peace." With that I got up and left, I leant back against the door to his apartment after I closed it behind me. I heard shuffling behind me and after a moment a soft sigh that told me Joe was on the other side of the door.

"I wish I could chase after you." His muffled voice muttered before another sigh and more shuffling. I closed my eyes and let out a slow breath, trying not to cry, or worse; turn back. Instead I took a deep breath and pressed the button to call for the elevator. This time when the elevator opened I was grateful to see that it was empty.

_**What I Go To School For**_

_September 15th_

When I got to Math on Monday morning I held my breath. Mr. Lucas wasn't late, his injuries from last Monday were almost healed, but worst of all the countdown of numbers up in the top right corner of the blackboard were instead taking up the whole board. 626 was drawn all over the board it made my heart both freeze and race at the same time. I swallowed thickly as I sat down, avoiding looking at Mr. Lucas.

"I'm sure you all want to know what the point of this is." Mr. Lucas said once everyone was in their seats after the final bell had rung. "It was something I was looking forward to; a day almost two years from now that means a lot to me and one other person." Sweet niblets, what the Hell is he doing? "But, I really fucked up and it might as well be a million days for all the good it's going to me now." He leant against his desk and looked out at us, his eyes primarily landing on me. "Two years or two and a half thousand years, I fucked up the one chance I had at perfection, but it's selfish to keep reminding her what I did to her so..." I felt my mouth drop open when he picked up the eraser and swiped it over the large numbers until they were nothing but white smears. "Just... It's got nothing to do with any of you, but it's just symbolic, I guess." He shrugged when the numbers were gone.

Once again after Math class had let out I stayed behind. Mr. Lucas kept his back to the general class, wiping away the lesson just like he'd done to the count down. I had about five minutes before the next class would start coming in and I needed to be at my next class; just like always, but it felt different today. Today felt different than the other days I'd stayed behind because I wasn't going to be flirting with him, or begging him to take me back like a love-sick desperate girl.

"Joe?" I spoke softly, letting him know I was still here, though by the tenseness of his back he already knew.

"Miley." Mr. Lucas mimicked, his head down, but he didn't turn around.

"You're not going to call me again, are you?" Even though it was a question I didn't need the answer; a part of me was relieved that he was finally going to stop giving me the mixed signals, but the majority of me was sad that he was finally giving up. He wouldn't take me back now, or in two years.

"I did what was best for you; I deleted your number." That hurt, it meant he wasn't planning on calling me ever. "I'll stop counting, I'll find another babysitter; I'll let you be happy."

"I was happy before." I told him, it felt so long ago though, but it was six and a half months ago. "Thank-you." I said, feeling a weight lift off my chest, this really was the end.

"You look different." Lilly commented when we met at our lockers next to each other.

"Yeah?" I hummed questioningly.

"Yeah, like, I don't know... Different." Lilly shrugged, struggling to explain it.

"Huh." I dismissed, shutting my locker. "Wanna go to the mall after school?" I changed the subject. "I think there's a shoe sale."

"Seriously?" Lilly raised her eyebrows. "There are these totally cute heels I've wanted and they're, like, fifty percent off." I held in a relieved sigh, she wasn't mad at me for being so distant and aloof lately.

"Cool, so I'll drive us after school." I nodded, as we started to walk.

"Hey, Miley." Gabe Lamatti was in the next class with Lilly and I.

"Hey, Gabe." I half smiled, he'd been talking to me a lot more the last week, he'd said more to me since the start of this school year than he had in the last two years we'd been in high school together.

"You doing anything this Friday?" Gabe asked as I slid into my seat in the middle of the room.

"No." I furrowed my brow, I knew something was happening on Friday, but I couldn't for the life of me remember what it was.

"Cool, so, you uh..." He scratched the back of his neck. "You wanna-you wanna go to the homecoming dance? With... Me?" So, it wasn't my imagination that he was trying to flirt with me?

"Um... Wow." I flushed, I honestly didn't know what to say; just because I'd accepted that it was finally over for good with Joe, didn't mean I wasn't still in love with him. It wouldn't be fair to go on a date with another boy when I was still in love with another man. "Uh... Sure." I agreed eventually, my mouth emitting the word before my brain had made a decision. What the Hell? I couldn't go out with Gabe Lamatti.

"Great." Gabe grinned and Lilly let out a little squeal in my ear. "So, I'll call you later."

"Yeah." I agreed, watching in shock as he walked to his seat and Lilly sat in hers next to me.

"Oh, my God!" Lilly gasped, staring at me with wonder in her eyes. "You're going out with Hottie Lamatti with the swimmers body."

_**What I Go To School For**_

_September 19th_

"You look real pretty, Bud." Dad smiled sadly at me, like he always did; he was always sad and melancholy when I went on a date or got dressed up for a dance or a premier. He couldn't stand to see me growing up; if only he knew what had been happening over the last year.

"Thanks, Dad." I half smiled, I felt awkward to be all dressed for a date with a boy, I hadn't had a date with a boy my age since the Halloween dance last year with Jake Ryan. I still couldn't believe I was going with Gabe. I still didn't even know why Gabe had asked me, every girl in school wanted him to ask them, so why did he ask me? What made me special to attract not only the illegality of a student-teacher relationship, but also the most wanted boy in school?

"Not half bad, Sis." Jackson said, which was pretty much him saying I was gorgeous; it's just the way brothers and sisters are.

"Thanks." I repeated, playing with my newly done nails. They matched my dress which was a deep navy navy blue.

"Let me get pictures of my baby." Dad procured a camera from seemingly nowhere.

"I'm not a baby, Dad." I muttered uncomfortably.

"You're always gonna be my baby girl." Dad shook his head. "My sixteen-year-old baby girl." I think he was about two seconds away from crying. "And my boy; my eighteen-year-old baby boy."

"Thanks a lot." Jackson frowned at me when Dad tried to gather us in for a group hug. "Now I'm gonna be stuck with emotional Dad all night."

"That's probably Gabe." I disentangled myself when the doorbell rang. I smoothed out my dress and took a deep breath as I faced the door. Dad was already getting his camera ready again. I had a feeling this was going to be a long night. "Gabe!" I stared at him in surprise.

"Hey, Miley." Gabe greeted as I stood back to let him in, still staring at his tux.

"Does he come with a pot of gold?" I heard Jackson snicker to Dad. Gabe was dressed in a bright green tuxedo complete with a green top hat.

"Someone stole the boys lucky charms." Dad shot back and I flushed.

"Uh, Gabe... You look... Different than any other school dance." I commented, my eyes wide. He usually dressed in a normal black tux with a bow tie, not like a leprechaun.

"Yeah, you know, I wanted to surprise you." Gabe said proudly, straightening his tie.

"Well, you definitely did." I confirmed.

"Cool, so you wanna go now? I got my Dad to lend me his _Mercedes_." Hopefully that wouldn't be bright green as well.

"Uh, what about some pictures first?" Dad suggested, barely holding in his laughter, not that he was trying very hard.

"Yeah, sounds great." The boy in green agreed before I could say anything. Was I in a bizarro world or something? I thought I was going out with Hottie Lamatti, not an overgrown leprechaun.

"Smile, Miles." Dad coaxed whilst Jackson didn't even try to hide his laughter.

* * *

**1) Thank God! Joe finally shaved (well, had someone else shave him, but still). I was starting to think I may never see his gorgeous face clean again.  
2) I've had the idea of Gabe for a while now, but everyone was quite insistent that Miley should make Joe jealous so I went with it.  
3) Everything is not as it seems, just remember that; there is a reason for everything in this story, even if that reason is not immediately clear.  
4) How early is too early to start my Christmas frenzy?**

**The next update will be on or before 1st of October.**

**Please review lots? I like them!**

**Smiler For Joe!**


	5. Chapter 4

_**CHAPTER FOUR**_

"You wanna dance or something?" Gabe offered when we stepped inside the decorated gym.

"Uh... Sure." I agreed, feeling self-conscious with everyone staring at us.

"Cool." It was a slow song so Gabe took the liberty of standing a little too close as we danced. Well, I guess it wasn't too close; by the standards of the other couples there was actually more distance between us than usual, but it felt close. Especially when I could feel eyes on me; the eyes of people staring at Gabe, at both of us, at me... But, none of them were the burning feeling in the back of my skull that made my stomach twist into knots. "Hey, you okay to hang for a bit, I wanna see my friends?" The boy in green asked after three dances, leading me away from the dance floor.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I forced a smile, it wasn't that Gabe was a bad date, it just didn't feel like a natural motion, even when he leaned down and kissed my cheek before wandering off to find his friends.

"You look like you're having fun." A voice commented, making my heart stutter in my chest.

"I do?" I furrowed my brow in confusion as I turned, finding myself at the refreshments table.

"You're not?" Mr. Lucas frowned, he looked casually handsome like always; his suit was normal unlike Gabe's, he'd had a haircut last week so his hair barely fell to the middle of his forehead and curled a little, the only eccentric thing about him tonight was his gold bowtie that brought out the gold in his eyes as he leant against the wall with one hand in his pocket.

"It's okay." I shrugged, picking up a plastic punch and reaching for the punch ladle.

"Come on, Babe, we both know that when someone says 'okay' they mean anything but okay." Joe reasoned, raising an eyebrow as he tenderly took the cup and ladle, easily pouring some punch without spilling a drop before handing me the cup with a smile.

"He's a good guy and all, it's just-" I struggled to find the words, not knowing what was wrong with the date myself, before realising who I was talking to.

"It's okay." Mr. Lucas looked downcast, his lashes fluttering against his cheeks, knowing why I hadn't continued. "I gave up any right to jealousy a long time ago." He muttered sadly.

"What happened to 'okay' meaning anything but okay?" I shot his own words back at him teasingly.

"I'm used to not-okay." Joe shrugged, like it was nothing. "So where's the leprechaun?"

"With his friends." I rolled my eyes, I had a feeling neither Gabe nor I would be living this down for a long time. "And it doesn't look that bad."

"Maybe if he didn't freaking _glow_." He snorted, his eyes looking past me, I turned to follow his line of vision and saw Gabe with a group of other boys, and he actually did look like he was glowing and I didn't know if it was just the lights or if he really was glowing. "At least you'll never lose him."

"He's not normally like this." I turned back to face my teacher. "He said he wanted to surprise me, but a surprise is supposed to be a corsage, not dressing like one of Santa's elves."

"He's more of a leprechaun than an elf." Joe smirked conversationally, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I mean, elves have pointy hats and bells on their shoes, all that kid is missing is a pot of gold."

"I really know how to pick 'em, huh?" I mused, setting my empty cup down. "A stuck up actor, my Math teacher, and a leprechaun." I shook my head and Joe chuckled.

"The first two seem like douches, you should stick with the third." He advised with a sad smile. "Leprechaun are meant to be lucky, right? Maybe he won't break your heart."

"Maybe." I agreed, though as I looked over at Gabe I got a funny feeling in my stomach that he wouldn't get the chance to break my heart.

_**What I Go To School For**_

"Hey, so, uh, I had fun tonight." Gabe rubbed the back of his neck as he walked me to my door after the dance.

"Yeah." I hummed, feeling shy all of a sudden. "Me too." I knew what was coming now; the kiss conundrum. Does he kiss me? Do I kiss him? Do I invite him? We stood awkwardly at the door for a moment, usually it wouldn't even matter what the boy wanted to do because Dad would be sitting by the front door reading the comic strips in the paper when I brought a date home.

"Cool." Gabe took the leap and leaned in, pressing his lips to my cheek for a second. "I'll see you round?" And without even saying goodbye he turned and left, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. What is it with guys doing that so much lately? Or was it just me?

"Guess the leprechaun didn't get lucky, huh?" Jackson smirked when I walked in the door, but I just glared at him.

"Better not have." Dad grumbled, as amused as he'd been when Gabe picked me up tonight boys touching me and me having an interest in boys was always going to be a touchy subject for him. Good thing he didn't know about Joe.

"Does he go back to being three feet tall at midnight?" Jackson continued, I had a feeling I would never be able to live down Gabe's outfit tonight. And I still didn't know what the Hell possessed him to wear a freaking green tux... Which, it turns out, _does_ actually glow in the dark, as evidenced by the ethereal green glow when he was walking me to the door.

I ignored Jackson and climbed up to my room, dropping my shoes by the door and looking out the window with a tired sigh. I frowned a little when I saw Gabe's Dad's car at the front of the house, the tiny light on inside. He was texting on his phone, I could tell that much, and even from this distance it looked like angry texting. Who would Gabe be angry texting right after dropping me at home after the dance?  
I shook my head and turned away; I went on one date with Gabe, I shouldn't care who he may or may not be arguing with. I pulled my curtain shut and sat on my bed, carefully taking my earrings out as I did so. My feet hurt, I was tired, my date could glow in the dark... But, oddly enough I couldn't stop smiling. Although when I stopped to think about why it made me sick and upset to realise it was because of Joe; because we'd actually had a conversation tonight that hadn't ended in tears or an argument. It felt good to be able to talk to him, especially when there wasn't the threat of Joe being caught and arrested because of it.

I grabbed my phone and rolled onto my stomach as I dialled an all too familiar number. I bit my lip and stared at it; would he recognise it? Would he answer it? I took a deep breath and impulsively hit the call button, listening to the ringing and waiting to find out if Joe would answer.

"Miley?" His voice was surprised when he answered. "What's up? You okay?"

"Yeah." I smiled despite myself. "Yeah, I'm good." I felt like for the first time in a long time that it was true; I wasn't heartbroken or crying. I think I'm finally good. "I just... I wanted to-I wanted to tell you that you were right."

"Huh?" I could just about picture his confused face as he tried to figure out what I meant.

"Tonight, when you said I looked like I was having fun." I clarified, hearing a sharp intake of breath. "I guess I just realised that I did have fun tonight." I shrugged even though he couldn't see.

"Guess the date ended better than it started, huh?" Joe mused from the other end of the phone.

"Maybe it wasn't the date?" I suggested truthfully.

"That's a dangerous thing to say, Miles." Joe warned, I bit my lip again. I heard a noise in the background followed by cooing. "Go back to sleep, Matthew." He murmured, he always sounded so sweet when he was with his baby brother. "Come on, sleepy time, Bud." Joe lured, I stayed on the line and put it on speaker as I got up and stripped off my dress, letting it fall into a puddle of fabric on the floor. "Good boy." I laid in bed without bothering to put my pajamas on and listened to Joe talk to Matthew for another couple of minutes. "Sorry." Joe mumbled when his attention was back on me.

"It's okay." I smiled, "you get cute when you're with Matthew." I told him honestly.

"Says the girl who purs like a kitten." He shot back teasingly. "Anyway, I'm glad you had fun tonight... Even if it wasn't because of that swimmer kid like it should have been."

"Yeah... It was good to talk to you... As a friend." I add at the end, maybe that was all I would get from him.

"I could be a friend." Joe agreed, I let out a subconscious breath.

* * *

**Okay, I just want to say sorry for not updating this in over a month and for it being such a short chapter for the long wait. If you want to know why then please read the authors note at the bottom of When The Snow Comes Down In Tinseltown!**

**And now for a few things that may have been missed since my last update;  
Miley's album!  
Jonas split!  
Miley's tour!  
Rumor has it Joe and Blanda split?  
Hilary Duff is working on a new album!  
Anything else I'm missing?**

**Smiler For Joe!**


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